ArmInfo. If hostilities continued in Artsakh, there was a threat to lose the capital, Stepanakert. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this live on his Facebook page. The prime minister noted that according to the General Staff, a problem with resources arose during the hostilities, and this information was also confirmed by the leadership of Artsakh.
"We signed this document to hold out, since Stepanakert would have remained practically defenseless. If the war continued, the losses would not have been limited to Stepanakert. We could have lost Martuni and Askeran as well. surrounded, "Pashinyan said.
The head of the Cabinet noted that it was during the assessment of the situation that this decision was made. According to Pashinyan, it was not for nothing that the military personnel from the front line recorded and sent videos in which they noted that they supported this decision.
As for the fall of Shushi, Pashinyan noted that the Armenian army twice tried to regain control of the city. "One attempt failed completely, during the second the Armenian military were able to penetrate the city, but this practically did not change the situation. This explains the fact that contradictory information was received in connection with the city of Shushi," Pashinyan said.
Moreover, the prime minister also touched upon yesterday's statement by the head of the Prosperous Armenia party, Gagik Tsarukyan, who accused the government of treason, noting that back on October 28, when Shushi was under the control of the Armenian Armed Forces, Russia proposed to deploy its peacekeepers in Artsakh, which would lead to ending the war. But, according to Tsarukyan, Pashinyan refused.
"Naturally, this statement does not correspond to reality. On October 22, in an interview, I noted that I was in favor of placing Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh, I repeated the same on 25 October. Consequently, I could not in any way be against the deployment of Russian peacekeepers. But since the conversation turned to betrayal, it is worth remembering the actions of Tsarukyan himself. When he was released, he stated that he intends to lead a volunteer detachment that will leave for Artsakh. And we saw camouflage equipment, but not the detachment itself. We did not see this detachment near Shushi, because who knows, perhaps if this detachment was there, the city could be saved. In any case, if we had reserves, we could hold the city, "Pashinyan concluded.